This entire conversation is the result of a (largely successful) effort to redefine the debate over taxes from “how much in taxes do you pay” to “how much in federal income taxes do you pay?” This is good framing if you want to cut taxes on the rich. It’s bad framing if you want to have even a basic understanding of who pays how much in taxes.

There’s a reason some would prefer that more limited conversation. For most Americans, payroll and state and local taxes make up the majority of their tax bill. The federal income tax, by contrast, is our most progressive tax — it’s the tax we’ve designed to place the heaviest burden on the rich while bypassing the poor. And we’ve done that, again, because the working class is already paying a fairly high tax bill through payroll and state and local taxes.

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Which is why, if you want to understand who’s paying what in taxes, you don’t want to just look at federal income taxes, or federal payroll taxes, or state sales taxes — you want to look at total taxes. And, luckily, the tax analysis group Citizens for Tax Justice keeps those numbers. So here is total taxes — which includes corporate taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, state sales taxes, and more — paid by different income groups and broken into federal and state and local burdens:

But here is really the only tax graph you need: It’s total tax burden by income group. And as you’ll see, every income group is paying something, and the rich aren’t paying much more, as a percentage of their incomes, then the middle class.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee testified during divorce proceedings that he and his former wife made a "mutual" decision for her to have two abortions, according to divorce transcripts released Thursday.

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DesJarlais easily won a second term despite revelations that he once urged a patient with whom he was having an affair to get an abortion. DesJarlais, whose campaign platform opposed abortion, acknowledged the conversation but said he was only trying to get her to admit she wasn't pregnant.

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DesJarlais' first wife had supported earlier efforts to release the court records, though her attorney said Thursday he hadn't had time to review them enough to comment.

Transcripts of the DesJarlais divorce proceedings also reveal that the congressman had affairs with women who worked for him, including a lab technician he was with at a hospital Christmas party. Other parts of the transcript reveal patients who said they had sex with the doctor also claiming he wrote them drug prescriptions.

Jesus says that is almost impossible for a rich person to get to heaven,
So it up to the Christians to vote for the rich to give p more of their money
so they do not send their souls into the bowels of hell.
It is the Christian way for the rich to be taxed more for the good of their souls

Job Creators: Who really are the job creators?? I always thought it was supply and demand economics. If there is no demand then the price would go down. If there was demand then either the supply would go up or the supply would stay the same and the price would go up. So it seems that demand is a very huge part of this equation. So if people have less money then there will be less demand.

However republicans would have you believe that corporations will just create jobs because their taxes go down. Under this scenario they will just put more money in their pockets and not put any money into the system to create demand.

Middle Class: What really is the middle class?? I have yet to hear an elected official to give a definition that makes any sense. It is time to ask all politicians to give a definition and if they refuse then they have no right to use the word.

Small Business: What really is a small business?? They same holds true here. Politicians have no idea what a small business really is. Ask the politicians. Don't know, don't use it.